Taleon Imperial Hotel

Having taken the Sapsan train from Moscow there was an element of apprehension as to just how good this hotel was going to be. The National Hotel in Moscow was impressive but faded into the background when compared to this grand statement of eloquence. The ground floor reception is just past a bar which looks like a straight lift from classical Greek times - almost overwhelming in its scale. The reception staff are superbly competent. The elevators are almost space age and one has a carpet which is changed every day to display the name of the day - nifty or what? The bedroom and en suite bathroom made the National Hotel look like a seaside boarding house be comparison. There are two feeding places - an inside/outside restaurant at roof top level (next to an eye wateringly expensive spa complex (twentyfive pounds for a three hour swim if my shocked memory serves me correctly) and a sports bar serving Georgian food. Limited snacks are available at the bar but seem to be mainly cakes. Room service is available and the breakfast buffet (although not as good as the National Hotel) is very good with free champagne if that takes your fancy (and it certainly took mine). The hotel is well located near the Kazan and St Isaac Cathedrals and a five minute walk from the Hermitage. My Amex card has certainly clocked up a lot of points staying in this palatial establishment for four days and I take comfort from the belief that the Four Seasons Hotel is even more costly. Would I go back? Absolutely.

we are members of the Leading Hotels of the World and use them as much as possible. For the first time , and we have been around the world with them,we were disappointed . Apart from the location, which is great, the rest was not on par. We had just arrived from Moscow where we stayed at the Lote Hotel (same chain) and we had a great experience. It starts from the reception, professional, polite but not friendly. We had two rooms, one of them was a suite ( very expensive) and was disappointing. The buffet for breakfast was just Ok. Again service was minimum and just polite. Next time we visit Saint Petersburg we will go somewhere else.

Used to be a palace - actually lobby is overbearing with statues; landings charmless. Rooms (ours was 508) spacious as was the well-appointed bathroom in all its pink marble glory. No bed valances. No views whatsoever (a bit of sky). 5*, I don't think so. One night we had to bear very loud music until 11.00 pm ('it's the law that music can be loud until then'). Location perfect for Hermitage. No concierge after 5.00 pm we were told at 5.30 as we wanted some guidance as to where to go for supper. Reception looked up on TripAdvisor !

excellent breakfast with a lot of choices - try blinis with caviar ... ~25m rooftop pool - excellent water quality - outdoor terrace - sauna excellent rooftop restaurant with eastward terrace the hotel was build into 2 old palace structures hence a lot of winding corridors could need some repainting and better lighting we had a room towards Nevsky Avenue - closed windows block almost all noise.

Location couldn't be better. Very nice breakfast. Rooms clean and comfortable. Good service. We had a small issue with incorrect charges for the hotel transportation, that was corrected in a timely matter in response to our email. Beautiful hotel interiors. If you want to feel "imperial" in the center of the city, that is your hotel !